Chapter 7:

1. Chapter 7: The Antebellum Days

2. Antebellum Georgia-Economy • Owners worth was measured in the amount of slaves owned. • Land inexpensive • ½ of Georgia’s wealth was in slaves • Slave worth compared to cost of pound of cotton. • Slave Markets: Savannah, Augusta, Macon, and Louisville • Cotton mills, tanneries, shoe factories, iron, brick, pottery Monmouth Plantation, Natchez, MS

3. Antebellum Georgia-Transportation • Travel has changed very little since late 1700s. • Horse, carriages, dirt roads, turnpikes… • Time consuming • River system • Steamboats(1820): went mostly north-south • Railroads(1833): all directions…Charleston to Augusta… (1843) Savannah to Macon and Atlanta to Chattanooga Mississippi Queen

4. Antebellum Georgia-Education • Not considered Important-Agriculture! • Wealthy hired private teachers • “Old Field Schools”:built in the fields that were no longer being used • Reading, writing, arithmetic (The 3 ‘R’s) • 1858: Georgia set aside $100,000 for free schooling • 1851: Georgia Military Institute (Marietta) and the Georgia Academy for the Blind • 1859: 1st Law School established in Athens Georgia Military Institute

5. Antebellum Georgia-Religion Inside of a plantation slave church • Great Revival Movement of the early 1800s • Methodists and Baptists had the most members. • Other churches were growing as well • Episcopal, Catholic, Presbyterian… • Slaves attended the same churches as their masters’. • Religious revivals and camp meetings grew in popularity

6. Antebellum Georgia-Politics • 1840s: the two major political parties were the Democrats and Whigs • Democrats: states’ rights and slavery • 1856: becomes leading party in Georgia • Whigs: upper social classes who favored small tariffs and federal help for the South • 1850s: compromise to preserve the Union • Georgians formed Constitutional Union Party and States’ Rights Party • Know-Nothing Party: did not want immigrants to become citizens or anyone not born in U.S. to hold a political office. Know-Nothing Platform

7. North Industrial Poor climate Short growing season Factories, mines, banks Railroads North wanted tariffs on foreign goods so it’s products would become cheaper Large cities Nightlife, arts, sports, dinner, dancing South Agricultural “Cotton is King” Cotton, tobacco, rice Planters and farmers South was against tariffs as many of their goods were from foreign countries Little time for leisure activities Revivals, quilting bees, hunting, horse racing Quiet and predictable North vs. South Differences: Sectionalism, economics, culture, SLAVERY!

8. Facts and Terms • Antebellum: period before the Civil War • Nathaniel Hawthorne: wrote “The Scarlet Letter” • 1732: Georgia’s original charter outlawed slavery (promoted laziness) • 1619: Slavery began in North America • Dutch traders brought slaves to the tobacco fields • Slave trading ships docked in Savannah, New Orleans and Charleston • 1793: Eli Whitney’s cotton gin • Because cotton was being processed faster there was need for MORE slaves to work the fields • Communications between slaves was difficult due in part that they didn’t speak English, but also because of their many different dialects • Owners felt the inability to communicate would keep the slaves from uprising.

9. Slave Life • Food: • Fatback, molasses, cornbread, fish, vegetables, squirrel, rabbit… • Clothes: • Wide hats, heavy shoes, clothes that didn’t fit right, made of long-lasting material • House slaves treated better than field slaves • Housing: • One room huts with fireplace; small, crowded smoky • Work: • Long hours, bent over, sun up to sun down, blue collar • Women: Sewing, child care Scary Squirrel Slave Quarters

10. Slave Families • Very strong, close • Extended beyond the plantation • “White” law did not recognize slave marriages • Families would become separated due to changes in the owner’s life • I.e.... Marriage, death… • Overseer: managed the slaves on a day-to-day basis; hired by slave owner • Administered punishment • Driver: an older slave who was loyal to the owner and could manage other slaves Overseer with slaves Slave mother being punished for wanting to help child

11. Slave Religion and Education Slave Chapel • 2 places of worship: • Plantation where owners and slaves met (Obey!) • Slave quarters where black preachers talked of freedom and justice • Spiritual songs(“Go Down Moses”) • Education: • Against the law for an owner to teach slaves to read or write • Feared that educated slaves could communicate and organize uprisings

12. Slave Facts and Terms • All slaves did NOT work on the plantations • Some worked as skilled artisans in the towns • I.e.. potters, weavers, shoemakers, engravers, printers, woodworkers… • Free Blacks: found in North AND South that were NOT slaves and considered free • Suffered from discrimination: people who are denied their rights because of a prejudice • Voting restrictions, owning property, travel… • Some free blacks who owned their own farms also owned slaves • Fugitive Slave Laws: required that runaway slaves be returned to their masters’. • Slave Codes: eliminated and reduced the rights of slaves • Could not testify against whites • Could not show disrespect • Could not hit or make physical contact • Could not carry a weapon

13. Important Slave Leaders • Gabriel Prosser(1800): • Several thousand slaves who were unhappy with their conditions planned to attack Richmond, VA…betrayed by other slaves and 34 were executed. • Denmark Vesey(1822): • Led 9000 slaves for a planned attack on Charleston, SC…betrayed and plan failed • Nat Turner(1831): • Slave preacher in a Virginia town that led the bloodiest slave revolt in American history; killing 65 whites along the NC border…captured and killed…fear of uprisings!

14. Abolitionist Movement Harriett Tubman William Lloyd Garrison • Abolitionist: Northern AND southern whites, along with free blacks who worked to get rid of slavery through speeches, books, safe houses… • William Lloyd Garrison: published “The Liberator” …Abolitionist newspaper that called for freedom • Harriet Beecher Stowe: wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” …a book about slaves as individuals rather than a group • Frederick Douglas: published “The North Star” …an orator (Speech giver) who spoke of the evils of slavery • Sojourner Truth: orator that preached for freedom of all blacks • Harriet Tubman: Underground Railroad- helped escaped slaves to the North and Canada

15. The Missouri Compromise Compromise of 1820 • At the end of 1819, there were 11 Free States and 11 Slave States. A balance in the Senate…Southerners feared that the population growth of the North would disrupt the balance in the House of Representatives. As our country grew, states prepared to enter the Union (Maine and Missouri). Congress had to decide if the new states were going to entered as Free or Slave States. • Free State: did NOT permit slavery • Slave State: allowed slavery • Maine entered the Union as a Free State…Missouri entered as a Slave State. • No slavery would be permitted north of 36* 20’ North Latitude (see page 218)

16. Compromise of 1850 • California’s population exceeded 100,000; enough to ask for statehood…this sparked “The Great Debate” –Congress’s debate about what to do with California • Senator Henry Clay proposed this compromise: • California became a Free State • Slave trading ended in Washington DC • Texas gave up it’s annex on New Mexico (allowing New Mexico to enter as a Slave state) • Annex: to make a claim to • Utah and New Mexico got to decide on Slave or Free • Washington DC residents could keep slaves they already own • Congress passed another Fugitive Slave Law

17. Congressional Solutions • Sectionalism: a concept in which people in any given area think that their ideas and interests are correct and more important than those of other areas. • North: Federalism or strong national government • South: States’ Rights • Kansas-Nebraska Act: • Created territories of Kansas and Nebraska that contained a Popular Sovereignty Clause • The people of the territory decided if they were free or slave • Made the North angry as this went against the Compromise of 1820

18. “Bleeding Kansas” • Abolitionists and pro-slavery groups began to move into the Kansas Territory armed and ready to fight to gain advantage of the state. When fighting erupted, this became known as “Bleeding Kansas”. • Free Soilers: people against slavery and wanted land to be given to Western settlers for farming Free Soilers vs. Pro-Slavery

19. Path to War • Dred Scott Decision: • Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom because he claimed he had lived in a Free State (Illinois) when he and his Master moved there. • Supreme Court ruled that he could not sue because he was not a citizen. • Supreme Court ruled that Congress had no right to stop slavery in the territories. • John Brown’s Raid: • John Brown and other abolitionists, white and black, led a raid on a federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, VA. • Defeated by U.S. troops led by Col. Robert E. Lee

20. Tariffs and Economic Issues • Tariffs: taxes on imported goods • 1832: South Carolina first started talking about seceding from the Union because of high tariffs • Panic of 1857: a depression that hit the United States, bankrupting factories and businesses…did not hit the South as bad due to less industry • North began to call for higher tariffs on British goods

21. Class Structures • Class Structure: position one group in society has in relation to others. South • Social classes based on land and slaves • Very difficult to move from one class to another • TOP: small group of influential plantation owners • MIDDLE: middle class; doctors, lawyers, ministers… • Yeoman Farmers: small farmers who owned less than 500 acres of land. • LOWER MIDDLE: poor whites • BOTTOM: blacks; had their own social class • Free Blacks • House Servants • Field Slaves North • Social classes tied mostly to wealth • Easier for people to move from one class to another • Simply make or lose more money • Equal chance for everyone to go to school, travel, and take part in cultural activities

22. The Party of Lincoln Rise of the Republican Party • The Whig Party began to split after the Election of 1852. • The northern faction began to lean ever more towards the Abolitionists and less likely to compromise. • 1854: became the Republican Party. • Free States ONLY! Click here to find the Origin of the Republican Elephant symbol

23. Election of 1860 • Democrats argued at their convention in Charleston as to what their platform should be. • Platform: statement of principles and policies the party supports. • Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrats) • Popular Sovereignty • John Breckinridge (Southern Democrats) • Slaves allowed in all territories • John Bell (Constitutional Union Party) • Supported the Union and compromise • Border state Whigs • Abraham Lincoln (Republican) • Protective tariffs, free western land to settlers, construction of trans-continental railroad, anti-slavery • Appeared to be against everything the south wanted • Lincoln won without a single southern electoral vote and without the majority of the vote.

24. Georgia’s Reaction to Lincoln’s Victory Alexander Stephens Governor Joseph Brown • Most Georgians supported the Union, but were starting to favor states’ rights. • Governor Joseph Brown called for a special session of the state legislature to discuss secession. • Secession: the act of pulling away from the Union. • Alexander Stephens urged Georgians to true to the Constitution • Robert Toombs and Thomas Cobb favored secession • Nov. 21, 1860: Governor Brown called for a Secession Convention

25. Secession • Dec. 20, 1860: South Carolina • January 16, 1861: Georgia • February 1, 1861: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas • February 4, 1861: • All the seceded states met in Montgomery, Alabama to form the Confederate States of America • Jefferson Davis –President • Robert Toombs (GA) –Secretary of State • Alexander Stephens (GA) –Vice President

26. CREDITS I • Page 2: http://www.stratfordhall.org/ • Page 3: http://www.steamboats.org/gal-mq.htm • Page 4: http://freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~ddorsey/gmi/ • Page 5: http://csdickey.tripod.com/id44.htm • Page 6: http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/americavotes/know-nothing.html • Page 9: http://www.gwu.edu/~folklife/bighouse/panel15.html • Page 9: http://www.scarysquirrel.org/page1.html • Page 10: http://www.gwu.edu/~folklife/bighouse/panel9.html • Page 10: http://www.stratalum.org/2001/01july25/medford.htm • Page 11: http://www.gwu.edu/~folklife/bighouse/panel22.html • Page 13: http://docsouth.unc.edu/turner/turner.html • Page 13: http://www.co.henrico.va.us/rec/gabriel.htm • Page 14: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1561.html • Page 14: http://www.harriettubman.com/ • Page 15: http://www.rosecity.net/civilwar/capesites/warmap.html • Page 17: http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/Lesson_29_Notes_SEC_HO.htm • Page 17: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASkansas.htm • Page 18: http://www.nps.gov/fosc/bleeding.htm • Page 19: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2932.html • Page 19: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASbrown.htm

27. CREDITS II • Page 20: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/reform/goldlost_2 • Page 22: http://www.wildlife-pictures-online.com/elephant-pictures-3.html • Page 24: http://ngeorgia.com/people/brown.html • Page 24: http://www.impeach-andrewjohnson.com/11BiographiesKeyIndividuals/AlexanderStephens.htm • Page 25: http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/Confederate_states_America.htm